Games I'm Looking Forward to in 2017! (So far)

2017 is looking to be another huge year in gaming. With a great lineup so far for Q1, it looks like a majority of us might have some money problems, unless we get some of these titles here at LAN Mob then you can play here instead! With some grand returns for some franchises and some new IPs (which is something I feel we need) I'm very excited for 2017 in gaming.

Yooka-Laylee

Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Release Date: April 11

When rumors of former employees from Rare were grouping together and creating a new title needless to say I was ecstatic. Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Diddy Kong Racing were games I played a ton of as a kid. With former employees like Grant Kirkhope, David Wise, Ed Bryan, and Kevin Bayliss to name a few on board it only fueled the hype train. In my opinion, gaming is really hurting for more platformers. To me gaming has started to lean on more serious overtones for stories. Don't get me wrong though; it's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that I feel there's not as many lighthearted games like there used to be. Thankfully this year seems to have a decent amount of lighthearted games slated for the year. From the footage from PSX earlier this month the game looks to be coming along very nicely.

Persona 5

Platform: PS4, PS3

Release Date: April 4

Another addition to the critically-acclaimed JRPG is almost among us! (Would be sooner if they didn't delay it). Though it's been out since September in Japan, the reviews have been great. It's been 8 Years since the last major installment in the series. Part-time jobs make their return along with being able to go to the movies, play baseball, go to restaurants, work out at the gym, play video games, study, go fishing, and etc. The game will play out a year with the usual day/night cycle and you'll have to balance you're everyday life with also saving the world. Seems easy enough.

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy

Platform: PS4

Relase Date: TBD

Honestly I don't even feel like I have to type anything to justify my excitement for this. The original trilogy remade on one disc? Sign me up!

Digimon World: Next Order

Platform: PS4

Release Date: Jan 31

I haven't played a Digimon game in general since the original Digimon World on Playstation. It's convenient because this is a sequel to the original. With there being over 200 Digimon available in the game you're also able to travel with two Digimon instead of one! It was originally released on the Vita in Japan but it's getting a remaster and being released on the Playstation 4. I'm extremely excited that Namco-Bandai decided to bring it over to the West and give us the chance to own this.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Platform: PS4

Release Date: Feb 28

A game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic open world where you hunt and gather resources from giant robot dinosaurs. That's how you sell a game in a sentence (to me anyway). The next Playstation exclusive from Guerilla Games who brought you the Killzone series is working on another beautiful and unique title that's sure to catch a lot of attention.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release Date: Q2

The first South Park RPG The Stick of Truth ended up being a really well done game despite it being rather short. From capturing the humor from the show with the help of Trey Parker and Matt Stone and the exceptional RPG elements it looks like The Fractured But Whole will be an improvement. Trading off the Lord of The Rings/Game of Thrones setting of The Stick of Truth to a Superhero setting, it looks like a "Civil War" is brewing among the kids in South Park. Once again as the new kid it's up to you which side you want to join in this troubling time.Video is NSFW so tread wisely.

Tekken 7

Platform: PS4

Release Date: Q2

Even though us in the west haven't gotten a release yet, Japan has had it in arcades since 2015. I'm really excited to see where to story goes and not to mention Akuma from Street Fighter also makes an appearance! The game looks beautiful and I can't wait for Tekken to come back.

Gran Turismo Sport

Platform: PS4

Release Date: TBD

In my opinion, the Playstation 4 is in dire need of a good racing game. With Microsoft having the Forza franchise and with 4 releases on the Xbox One literally leaves Sony in the dust when it comes to a good racing game. While there are a few racing games on the Playstation such as Need for Speed, Project Cars, Drive Club, and The Crew; The lineup is really missing a good simulator. As of now Forza is dominating the racing market but we'll see if Gran Turismo can fight back with this newest installment.

Friday the 13th: The Game

Platform: PS4, Xbox one, PC

Release Date: TBA

I've had my eye on this game since it's reveal. A few years ago I was talking to my friends about how cool a game like this would be. 1 Player as Jason, the other players are the camp counselors. Your collective goal is to escape by any means necessary. That includes even leaving your friends behind for Jason to eviscerate them. I was lucky enough to attend their Panel at PAX East earlier this year; and got to talk to the team behind it all. They were excited that they have been given the opportunity to use the Friday the 13th name and talked about how much they each love the iconic Slasher films. They even got Kane Hodder to do the motion captures for Jason. To know that such huge fans of the series are working on this instead of a team that just views it as just a job makes me hopeful that it's going to be a very impressive title.

For Honor

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release Date: Feb 14

Vikings, Knights, and Samurais in the same game? What's not to love about that!? For Honor is all about huge battles between these different warriors. All about reading your opponents moves and executing attacks to decimate your enemies. It will be fulfilling to be able to wreck a samurai as a viking or vice versa. With all the gameplay footage out there it looks like Ubisoft has another game to be proud of.

Cuphead

Platform: Xbox One, PC

Release Date: TBD 2017

Cuphead is one of the most unique games I've seen in awhile. All styled like a 1930's cartoon, Chad and Jared Moldehauer have something really magical in their hands. The visuals and the soundtrack are absolutely stunning; everything is actually all hand drawn! While it was supposed to come out this year *sad face* I'm very confident the delay will be worth the extra wait.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Release Date: TBD 2017

Former Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi decided to tackle Kickstarter to fund his upcoming game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. This title is a spirtiual successor to my favorite Castlevania game; Castlevania Symphony of the Night. The game raised 5.5 million with the Kickstarter campaign. Thanks to that we're getting extra content which will improve the game even more! Igarashi has even very thankful and has given us a few other ways to voice our opinons on the direction of the game. For instance a few months ago, he asked us which art style we preferred for the game and gave us different options to vote for. From that and the gameplay that was shown at E3 made me put even more faith into the project and I'm excited for what Bloodstained has in store for us.

Of course there's plenty of other games to look out for this year, but this is some I'm looking forward to the most. What games are you excited to get ahold of this year? Let us know in the comments!